Page 10 - Light Dragoons 2022 CREST

Having looked back at the last few years of journals to read through the Adjutantal notes, every year seems to be the busiest year in LD History. I won’t try to trump them but of course, as a regiment, we have consistently been in high demand and that is down to all the hard work, sac- rifice and time that the soldiers, officers and wider families have put in throughout the year.
The start of 2021 saw the Long-Range Reconnaissance Group deployed to Mali on Op Newcombe, a UN peacekeeping tour, as the first British troops on the mis- sion. RHQ, under Lt Col Tom Robinson, commanded a battlegroup that consisted of A Sqn led by Maj Black, B Coy from the Royal Anglians and was supported by personnel from 26 different units across the Army. I’ll just give a taster to wet the palate; 150 Light Dragoons in their ele- ment, cutting around Mali on Jackals and Coyotes, tearing up thousands of miles over desert, igneous rock fields, sand dunes and rolling savanna in searing 50 degree heat for 28-day operations. They visited areas that the UN had not been before, deterred attacks, seized weapons and protected the Malian people; thereby building enormous credibility at the UN. It was a fantastic tour and an incredible opportunity for LD soldiers to gain operational experience in a completely new country and environment. The tour ended in June 21 following some significant RAF delays, but with plenty of time to take a well earned stint of Post Operational Tour Leave (POTL).
Whilst A Sqn and RHQ were away in Mali, B Sqn under WO2 Cawthorne, held the fort as the ROG, providing invaluable support to the battlegroup in Mali whilst also tackling the Brigade tasking, by no means a quiet task. Trawls to Kenya to facilitate and run exercises, providing a Force Protection Platoon for BATUK, and deploying soldiers on Op Rescript were just a few. Closer to home, B Sqn set to task tackling the new battlecraft syllabus and training their troops. Some were fresh out of phase two training, where due to COVID, they had only spent a few nights in the field and hardly driven a vehicle, therefore requiring the Sqn to conduct back to basics training. However, outside this they completed an urban exercise in Longmoor, plenty of ranges and managed to fit in some cracking AT in the Lakes, in addition to supporting the Scots DG on Ex Wessex Storm.
C Sqn returned from POTL following their tour to Poland led by Maj Dodington in early 2021. With the Sqn back in full at the peak COVID, they were severely limited as to what activity could be achieved and so working from home was forced upon them. This, however, saw the initiatives such as
empowered PT, something which proved a huge success, with soldiers conducting their own PT for a few days each week with a fitness challenge at the end to measure the success. It also gave Maj Dodington the perfect opportunity to share his love of cross fit with the world. It has subsequently become a permanent fixture of regimental life for several days a week, don’t panic... sports afternoon still exists! As summer leave rapidly approached, the Sqn was called up to take on the Observer Mentor role on Wessex Storm which finally pro- vided some welcome activity to what had been a slow period hit by covid.
Once summer leave and POTL came to an end there was a significant churn of staff in RHQ and in the Sqns. Lt Col Tom Robinson handed over command to Lt Col Jon Harris after two and a half years of command, during which the regi- ment not only deployed to Poland but also saw the regiment selected to be the first Battlegroup into Mali. We all thank him for his huge efforts over his tenure and wish him the best of luck in his next chapter in MOD Main Building. There was more change still as Maj Dodington took over as 2IC from Maj Lenherr, Maj Freeman took over C Sqn and Maj Bullock A Sqn as Maj Black disappeared to the moun- tains of Italy to work for the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. Capt O’Connor moved on after one hell of a stint as the Welfare Officer having done an absolutely sterling job in what was an extremely challenging couple of years. Following the reorbat, everyone was back feeling fresh and ready to hit the winter term. Of course, the regi- ment went straight back into it with an Ex Wessex Storm to prepare for. Ranges
at Castlemartin for three weeks allowed for some catch up firing in the delightful wet and wind that the west coast of Wales has to offer, but also plenty of opportu- nity to sample the local pubs. In addition, there were RHQ planning exercises, driver training, and exercises a plenty in order to hit the tight timeline. Of course this wasn’t the only task for the Regiment, as the Sqns tackled the Army War fighter Experiment, COVID support, Op Escalin - the fuel shortage support and UK security tasks to help track Afghans across the UK. No rest for the wicked!
It has not all been about military activities over the year, and although COVID has somewhat hindered opportunities, we’ve had outstanding success in winning the RAC boxing, the RAC triathlon champs, and the 1XX Bismarck Challenge for the 2nd year running, as well as successes in high board diving, rugby league and union. The Alpine and Nordic skiing teams made it out to the Alps in the nick of time, but were sadly recalled before the Divisional championships , although not before Sgt Oldham managed to pick up some silver- ware in the Army championships. The QM was less impressed when the Nordic team appeared back with over twenty thousand rounds of unfired .22.
2021 passed extremely quickly, and with Ex Wessex Storm as well as deployments to Poland and Oman to look forward to, I’m sure 2022 will again be able to compete for the prize of LDs busiest year!
JQ
The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
Regimental Notes... from the Adjutant
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